Friday, April 26, 2019

IS PROTECTING MY PROPERTY A DEFENSE TO DOMESTIC BATTERY?

During a break-up, your now ex-girlfriend refused to give you your I-phone. She taunted you by threatening to drop it into a sink full of water, so you grabbed her and yanked it out of her hand. Now you are charged with domestic battery.

You were just trying to save your phone. Is that a defense?

To convict you of domestic battery in Illinois, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you knowingly, without legal justification, made physical contact
of an insulting or provoking nature with a family or household member. 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(2). However, you may be justified in using force to defend your property if you reasonably believed that force was necessary to stop another from damaging or criminally interfering with personal property that is lawfully in your possession. 720 ILCS 5/7-3.

Determining whether you are justified in defending your property can be very fact specific and can greatly depend on how your particular judge views the evidence. Therefore, it is important to hire an experienced criminal law attorney who is familiar with the courthouse and can present the facts of your case in their best possible light. Do not try to talk your way out of your situation because you may instead give the state the evidence they need to convict you.

In People v Bausch, the court found a defendant’s use of force was not justified to defend his property where he grabbed his wife on the mere suspicion that the title and keys to his boat were in her purse.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

And "SEARCH AND SEIZURE," "MOTIONS AND DEFENSES" and "EVIDENTIARY MATTERS GENERALLY."

About Me

A criminal and school law attorney with over 20 years of experience, I have successfully represented clients all over the Chicago area. My practice includes DUI, felony, criminal, misdemeanor, homicide, internet crime, retail theft, traffic offenses, cyberstalking, drug or narcotics crimes such as drug possession or drug dealing, weapons violations, domestic battery and juvenile crime. I also represent families involving school cases. My clients come from all over the Chicago area including Skokie, Wilmette, Niles, Northbrook, Glenview, Evanston, Winnetka, Highland park, Northfield, Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Mount Prospect.
I am a member of the ACLU, Illinois State Bar Association.
Se habla espanol.
CONTACT ME: 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com

"Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't: Behaving at a DUI Stop," by Art Buono. Sept. 20, 2011.

"Time to Shock Schools into Deploying Difibrillators," by Art Buono. November 3, 2011."Anti-Bullying Law Not Enough," November 16, 2011,

PUBLIC APPEARANCES:

November 15, 2012: Presenter: "Student Discipline: The Expulsion Hearing Games" as part of the Illinois State Bar Association continuing legal education course: The Student and Parent Side of School Law Issues.